Humans

Science

Women's Role In The European Agricultural Revolution Revealed

6:52am November 30, 2017

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Studies of ancient bones show that women's physical labor was crucial to driving the agricultural revolution in Europe. These women's upper bodies were stronger than that of elite athletes today.

Thoughts, feelings and their connection to the mind, body and science remain as mysterious as they were in Victorian times, says Marcelo Gleiser.

Science

Science And The Mystery Of The Mind

2:26pm November 29, 2017

by Marcelo Gleiser

We are still as ignorant about the "passage from the physics of the brain to the corresponding facts of consciousness" as John Tyndall and his Victorian colleagues were, says Marcelo Gleiser.

After decades of disappointment, doctors have been able to treat several different types of genetic conditions by giving each patient a healthy version of their defective gene.

Gene Therapy Shows Promise For A Growing List Of Diseases

1:09pm November 29, 2017

by Rob Stein

After decades of hope and disappointment, doctors have now been able to treat several different types of genetic conditions by giving each patient a healthy version of their defective gene.

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James Carmody has Asperger's syndrome and is a freshman at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He sat down with Elizabeth Boresow, who graduated from the University of Kansas and also has autism.

Navigating Life On Campus When You're On The Autism Spectrum

4:46pm November 28, 2017

by Connor Donevan

The first year of college comes with a lot of changes: new friends, new surroundings, new classes. A college grad on the autism spectrum gives advice to a college freshman with Asperger's syndrome.

A Quechua woman tends to her clay oven in her outdoor kitchen on the road to the Sillustani archaeological site in Puno, Peru. The stone table is laid with a collection of potatoes and other tubers, as well as homemade cheese and bread.

The Ancient Andean Tradition of Eating Clay May Have Helped To Protect Health

2:33pm November 28, 2017

by Megan Jula

Farmers in Peru's Andean highlands have been consuming clay for centuries. Scientists now think it may have allowed them to eat wild potatoes, which are rich in toxic chemicals.

Light therapy helps some people with seasonal affective disorder feel better. Now it's being tested as a treatment for bipolar disorder.

Light Therapy Might Help People With Bipolar Depression

5:19pm November 27, 2017

by Patti Neighmond

Light therapy can help treat depression that's part of seasonal affective disorder, but it hasn't worked so well for treating bipolar disorder. It may come down to when people are exposed to light.

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If you're regularly checking your phone at night in a dark room, you're probably tricking your body into thinking it's still daytime.

Apps Can Cut Blue Light From Devices, But Do They Help You Sleep?

12:13pm November 27, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

Lots of phone and tablet apps promise to improve sleep by filtering out the blue light from device screens. But that won't help if the reason you're not getting enough shut-eye is caffeine or stress.

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A chimpanzee skull, at left, and a human skull. Scientists are probing why our brains evolved so differently despite many similarities.

Human Brains Have Evolved Unique 'Feel-Good' Circuits

2:01pm November 23, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

A comparison of brain tissue from monkeys, chimps and humans suggests that our brains produce the chemical messenger dopamine, which plays a major role in pleasure and rewards, far differently.

Camille Miller (left) is still trying to adjust to her new life in a retirement community. She gets advice from Morris Gordon, who made a similar move earlier this year.

Adjusting To Life In A Retirement Home 'Not As Scary As I Thought'

4:53pm November 21, 2017

by Sam Gringlas

Camille Miller just left her home of 35 years and moved into a senior housing community. Morris Gordon made the same move earlier this year, and is happier and more active than he expected to be.

Doctors think the chronic pain of "shoulder impingement" may arise from age-related tendon and muscle degeneration, or from a bone spur that can rub against a tendon.

Popular Surgery To Ease Chronic Shoulder Pain Called Into Question

7:44pm November 20, 2017

by Patti Neighmond

U.K. scientists say arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs or bits of ragged tissue in sore shoulders offered no more pain relief than than sham surgery in their randomized test.